


Lionel

by phoenixnz



Series: The Chronicles of Martha and Jonathan [19]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 15:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12435486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixnz/pseuds/phoenixnz
Summary: The reason Jonathan doesn't trust the Luthors





	Lionel

**Author's Note:**

> This was purely from Jonathan's p.o.v and only mentions Martha. I felt like there needed to be some sort of explanation for Jonathan's attitude toward the Luthors in the series. There are little memories of a young Clark. Sorry, they can't always be cute moments around Clark. 
> 
> From Season One: Pilot.

Jonathan couldn’t help but feel guilty every time he met Bill Ross in town or every time eight-year-old Pete came over to play with Clark. It was a constant reminder of what he had done to make sure no one would ask questions about his son’s adoption. Questions that he couldn’t really answer.

It still galled that Lionel Luthor could have so casually threatened to expose Clark if Jonathan didn’t convince the Ross brothers to sell their creamed corn factory. 

To be fair, it wasn’t as if the factory had been a successful business. Like many things in the years before Clark came into their lives, the town had been suffering from the recession. The ’87 crash had caused a lot of investors to lose almost their life savings. The President’s various helping hand schemes for farmers were not as abundant as they once were and like Smallville, rural communities were suffering.

Bill had often lamented the fact that he wished they had stuck to their guns and not allowed the sale of the factory, especially after Luthor had gutted the entire building and built a fertiliser plant in its place. In just a few years, there had been at least half-a-dozen complaints to the Environmental Protection Agency claiming the plant was responsible for poisoning the land. None of which were ever proven.

Jonathan could be realistic. The town had become revitalised as the plant expanded, employing more than two thousand people. Lionel had at least employed locals rather than bring in outsiders. 

That didn’t mean, however, that the Metropolis corporate shark didn’t do his share of shady deals. 

Jonathan was worried when, while out one night to meet his friends Mike and Ethan at the Wild Coyote for a couple of beers, Jack Bell and Tom Guy were talking to all and sundry about some deal they were involved in with Lionel. 

He didn’t hear all the details, but he gathered that the deal was fairly lucrative. The problem for both men was that they didn’t have the ready cash to invest. 

As Jonathan got up to get himself his second beer, he bumped into Tom Guy. 

“Hey, Jonathan,” his neighbour said. “Martha let you out for the night, huh?”

Jonathan snorted to himself. His wife trusted him and knew he wouldn’t drink too much. Sure, he had a temper and could get himself into trouble if he wasn’t careful, but he loved his wife enough to make sure he didn’t overdo it. The one time he had driven home drunk, she had made him sleep on the couch for a week. Of course, Clark, who had only been three at the time, thought his parents were fighting and worried his daddy was going to go away. 

Tom carried on as if he hadn’t even noticed Jonathan hadn’t replied. 

“Getting a good crop of pumpkins this year,” he said. “Bet Clark’s excited for Hallowe’en.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you know he loves it.”

The first time, Clark had been three and hadn’t understood what Hallowe’en was all about. They’d just celebrated their first year with him, although they didn’t really mark the occasion. Tom, whose wife had never been able to have kids, sent them a pumpkin which Jonathan had duly carved, with Clark’s ‘help’. Then they’d taken their son trick-or-treating, dressing him up as a cowboy. 

The next year, Clark had decided he wanted to dress up as Yoda from the Star Wars series. Which had been kind of ironic. 

Clark’s third year, he dressed up as a farmer, complete with plaid shirt and straw hat. 

His fourth time, six-year-old Clark had wanted to dress up as a dinosaur. That year the movie Jurassic Park had come out and dinosaurs were all the rage among his friends despite the fact that they’d never actually seen the movie and were not likely to. 

This year Jonathan had no idea what Clark was going to be. He was sure he’d find out eventually. 

Every year, Tom would send them a pumpkin. Tom’s wife adored Clark and would always have little treats for him at the local farmers’ market. 

“So, what’s this I hear about you doing a deal with Lionel Luthor?” Jonathan asked.

“Yeah. Sorry, I can’t exactly give you the details. All very hush-hush.”

“Tom, I think you should be careful about doing any kind of deal with that man.”

The other man bit his lip. “I hear you, but he says it’s legit. The thing is, Amy and I … we’ve been having some problems. Financial ones. Lionel says this deal could help solve all our problems.”

Jonathan understood about financial problems. The farm was in serious debt and it didn’t look like they were going to get out of it any time soon. He’d already asked the bank about refinancing and they owed money all over town. 

It appeared Tom Guy wasn’t the only one with serious financial issues. Jack quietly confided a couple of days later that they would have to sell the property anyway or the bank would take it. It would be a shame as Jack had let him and Clark go fishing at the river which ran through the property. 

Jonathan could still remember taking his son out in the fields to teach him how to cast. He’d given Clark his first fishing rod when he turned seven. He’d practically had to pry it out of his son’s hands to get him to go to bed. 

As much as he wanted to warn his neighbours, tell them exactly what they were signing up for, he knew they were desperate enough to overlook any concerns. 

A few weeks later he was at the Wild Coyote once again. Mike told him Tom and Jack had sold their properties to Lionel but instead of giving them cash he had told them he had invested the money in this lucrative deal. The two men would be able to buy back their land from the profits. He’d also sent them flashy gifts, like brand new cars saying they were part of the deal. It sounded more like bribery to Jonathan.

He was surprised when, just before Hallowe’en, Tom Guy turned up on his doorstep. He greeted his neighbour. 

“Tom, come on in.”

Tom looked away. “Uh, I can’t. Sorry, Jon, I won’t be able to give you a pumpkin this year. Uh, Amy and I … we’re …”

The other man looked upset. Jonathan frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re getting a divorce.”

“What? Why?”

Tom was practically in tears as the story came out. He told Jonathan that Luthor had not only conned both him and Jack out of their properties, but now they no longer had homes to go to. According to Luthor, the deal had fallen through and he’d lost millions, including the money Jack and Tom had invested. 

Jonathan wondered if that was really the case and not some grand scheme by Lionel to con them out of their land. 

With no money and no land, the two men were forced to move away. Tom’s wife had walked out on him telling him she couldn’t believe he’d been that stupid. 

It was just another reason for Jonathan to hate the Luthors.


End file.
